De Lima 'sorely disappointed' at fellow senators who did not sign Pharmally draft report
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Leila De Lima said Friday that she is displeased with some senators in the Blue Ribbon Committee who did not sign the draft report of the Senate's investigations on the questionable transactions of Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. with the government.
Only nine senators, including De Lima, affixed their signatures on the partial committee report, short of two more which would allow it to be tackled in the Upper House's plenary.
"I am sorely disappointed at the failure of several of our colleagues in the Blue Ribbon Committee to sign the committee report on the Pharmally investigation. Because of the lack of a majority signing the same, the report would now have to be archived, as if no anomaly happened," she said in a dispatch dated June 3.
Blue Ribbon Committee chair Sen. Richard Gordon earlier requested to archive the entire report in the Senate's records.
De Lima also said that the decision of senators to not sign the report is tantamount to letting culpable parties run "scot free."
"To let these people get away with plunder and corruption smacks of gross dereliction of duty on the part of the Senate," she added.
Despite her frustration, she said she is hopeful that Sen. Risa Hontiveros' plan to revive the Pharmally inquiry will "bear fruit" in the next Congress.
Hontiveros, the lone opposition bet who made it to the so-called "Magic 12" in this year's polls, expressed openness in sponsoring a resolution which would call for an inquiry into the Pharmally controversy. She is banking on getting the support of allies of President Rodrigo Duterte and those who ran under the slate of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.
"It will surely be a test for the incoming administration insofar as its promise to fight corruption and jail corrupt officials is concerned, no matter how high up they are in the totem pole of government," De Lima said.
Gordon: I wrote to every senator
In a statement on Friday, Gordon said he appealed to each senator in writing, asking them to sign the draft committee report and telling them they could settle their apprehensions during the plenary sessions. He said he did this before he delivered his privilege speech on March 31, where he asked the report to be archived in the Senate's records.
Some senators, including Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri chose to not sign the report since it recommended charges against Duterte.
RELATED: Duterte ignores Senate panel's Pharmally probe report
The report claimed that the President "betrayed public trust" when he appointed Pharmally financier Michael Yang to be the economic adviser to the president in 2018, discredited the Commission on Audit and Senate during the investigations, and reportedly barred his Cabinet and other officials from attending the hearings, among others.
“Puwede nilang sabihin, ‘I dissent,’ ‘I disagree,’ o ‘I will interpellate’ dahil dadalhin ‘yan sa plenary ‘pag pumasa para pag-usapan,” Gordon said in a radio interview.
("They could say, 'I dissent'. 'I disagree', or 'I will interpellate' because by doing that, we can bring it to the plenary to discuss it.")
He explained that Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who signed the report, asked to amend it; while Hontiveros, who was also a signatory, pushed for interpellation.
Gordon said that it is ultimately the Filipino people who "got shortchanged" when the draft report did not reach discussion in the plenary.
Pharmally, a start-up with only P625,000 in capital, was able to enter into questionable deals with the procurement service of the Budget department. Last year, senators claimed that Pharmally could have made "ghost deliveries" of face masks, face shields and personal protective equipment worth at least P3 billion in 2020.
A total of 18 hearings on Pharmally's transactions with the government were held over a period of seven months.
Follow this page for development on the government's allegedly overpriced pandemic response deals.
Photo credit: Screen grab from Senate of the Philippines YouTube page
The House committee on good government and public accountability recommends the filing of syndicated estafa against directors and officers of Pharmally, Rep. Michael Aglipay (DIWA Party-list) says.
The House panel recommends filing the charges against Huang Tzu Yen, Mohit Dargani, Twinkle Dargani, Lincoln Ong, Justine Garado and Krizle Mago before the Department of Justice.
The committee also recommends the filing of falsification of public documents against Jorge Mendoza II and Mervin Ian Tanquintic of the PS-DBM Inspection Division before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Pasay City jail is prepared for the transfer of Pharmally executives to its facility, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology says.
BJMP spokesperson says the prison does not have a separate facility except for the isolation area intended for newly committed persons deprived of liberty as part of health protocols.
"Walang special treatment. Walang preferential attention para sa kanila," BJMP spokesperson Xavier Solda says.
Ahead of today's hearing, Health Secretary Francisco Duque tells the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that no officials from the DOH will able to attend.
Duque says this is because the memorandum barring them from attending hearing connected to the investigation is still in effect.
The DOH chief adds that President Rodrigo Duterte directed them to "give way to equally important COVID-19 response activities." — report from Bella Perez-Rubio
LOOK: Ahead of today's hearing, Health Secretary Duque told the panel that no officials from his department will be able to attend.
— Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) October 19, 2021
He says this is because the memorandum barring them from attending hearings connected to the probe is still in effect. | via @BellaPerezRubio pic.twitter.com/6nEykxvEoB
In a House hearing, Pharmally's Krizle Mago claims that her previous statement that the firm switched out the expiry dates of face shields sold to government was a "pressured response."
Senate President Tito Sotto, however, says they will leave it to the Ombudsman to assess later on.
"A statement made under oath incriminating oneself has more weight than a recantation," Sotto says. — Bella Perez-Rubio
House blue ribbon panel chair Mike Aglipay says that Pharmally executive Krizle Grace Mago has just been placed under protective custody of the chamber’s sgt-at-arms.
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